Page:Works of Heinrich Heine 01.djvu/385

Rh curtain falls the poor princess once more puts on her common clothes, washes the rouge from her cheeks, hands over her adornments to the one who has care of the costumes, and dangling slovenly she hangs on the arm of the first best young third-rate legal official who may come along, talks bad Berlin German, climbs with him up to a garret, and yawns, stretching herself out, hardly heeding the sweet assurance that Sie spielten jettlich, auf Ehre! "You played divinely— you just did—'pon honour!" I do not venture to find the least fault with Shakespeare, and would only express my wonder that he makes Romeo feel a passion for Rosalind before he brings him to Julia. Though he gives himself up utterly to this second love, there still nestles in his heart a certain scepticism, which makes itself known in ironical expressions, and often reminds us of Hamlet. Or is the second love the strongest in the man because it is coupled with clear self-consciousness? With woman there is no second love, her nature is too tender to suffer her to survive a second time the most terrible earthquake of feeling. Look at Julia! Is she able to twice endure the